Princess Celestia
Princess Celestia is an Alicorn pony, the co-ruler of Equestria alongside her younger sister Princess Luna, and the adoptive aunt of Princess Cadance. In addition to her responsibility of raising the sun, she has also been the teacher of Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer at different periods in time, often addressing Twilight as "my faithful student" while mentoring her. Development and designEdit Princess Celestia was inspired by Majesty, a G1 unicorn.4 Celestia's name comes from the word "celestial", derived from Latin "caelum," meaning "sky" or "heaven". Lauren Faust commented that Princess Celestia was originally supposed to be Queen Celestia, the highest authority, with no parents who outrank her. Her status was changed to "princess" at Hasbro's request.5 Faust also mentioned that during the initial casting of the show, Kathleen Barr, Trixie's voice actress, did a "very good" audition for Princess Celestia before Nicole Oliver ultimately got the role.6 Princess Celestia is larger than most ponies, with the exception of Nightmare Moon, who is about the same size until she reverts to being Princess Luna. As with otherunicorns, a magic aura glow surrounds both Celestia's horn and objects she is magically affecting. The color of this glow varies: for instance, it is blue in A Bird in the Hoof, orange in The Cutie Mark Chronicles, and white in Griffon the Brush-off. In The Return of Harmony Part 1, it is blue when Celestia opens the door to the vault, but pink when she levitates the empty box the Elements of Harmony are supposed to be in. The glow is yellow in the remastered title sequence introduced with Lesson Zero, as well as in that episode itself and all the second season episodes that follow it. Her tail and mane have a natural flowing motion, even when Celestia herself is not moving, but they stop doing so when Celestia is weak, as in A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2, unconscious, as in Princess Twilight Sparkle - Part 2, or magic-less, as inTwilight's Kingdom - Part 2. Depiction in the seriesEdit History Ruling Equestria Celestia is introduced in the prologue of the first episode, depicted in a series of medieval-style drawings with a narration that says "two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land," and that "the elder used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn. The younger brought out the moon to begin the night." The narration continues: their subjects, the ponies, played in the day but "shunned" the night and slept through it, which made the younger "unicorn" grow bitter, eventually refusing to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. Her bitterness transformed her into a "wicked mare of darkness," Nightmare Moon. The elder sister reluctantly harnessed the power of the Elements of Harmony and banished her "in" the moon for 1,000 years, maintaining harmony in Equestria by taking responsibility for both sun and moon. Following the prologue, Twilight Sparkle reads of a prophecy that states that "on the longest day of the thousandth year the stars will aid in The Mare in the Moon's escape, and she will bring about nighttime eternal," though Spike dismisses it as "an old ponies' tale." The day of Nightmare Moon's return is also the 1,000 year anniversary of the Summer Sun Celebration, so Princess Celestia sends Twilight to oversee the celebration's preparations, which are being held in Ponyville, and encourages Twilight to "stop reading those dusty old books" and make some friends, much to Twilight's surprise. The events of the first and second episodes revolve around Twilight Sparkle and her new friends' attempt to defeat Nightmare Moon by finding and using theElements of Harmony, while Nightmare Moon tries to stop them in various ways. Celestia is expected to appear at Ponyville's pavilion, but she goes missing and Nightmare Moon appears in her place instead. Celestia doesn't reappear until Nightmare Moon is defeated and transformed back into Princess Luna at the end of the second episode by Twilight and her friends. Princess Celestia offers her younger sister a chance to rule by her side again, and she accepts. : "Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister. Will you accept my friendship?" : — Celestia offering Luna redemption Prior to ruling Equestria Celestia describes more of her history in The Return of Harmony Part 1. She tells Twilight Sparkle and her friends that before Princess Luna and she stood up toDiscord, he ruled over Equestria, keeping it in a state of unrest and unhappiness. Celestia goes on to describe that after seeing how miserable life was for Earth ponies, unicorns, and Pegasi alike, she and Luna discovered the Elements of Harmony and defeated Discord, turning him to stone. Discord's spell is later broken because, as Celestia explains, "Luna and herself are no longer connected to the elements." In The Crystal Empire - Part 1, Celestia describes how she and Luna worked together to defeat King Sombra, turning him into a shadow and imprisoning him in "the frozen north". Even further back in time, Twilight's Kingdom - Part 1 confirms that Celestia was an associate of the legendary Star Swirl the Bearded. During the Pre-Classical era, Celestia and Luna were involved in the first defeat of the evil centaur Lord Tirek, sending the villain to Tartarus. Summer Sun Celebration The Summer Sun Celebration is first mentioned in the first episode. Twilight reads of the legend of the Mare in the Moon, who is set to return and bring everlasting night "on the longest day of the thousandth year"–the summer solstice–since her defeat, which is also the thousandth year of the Summer Sun Celebration. Princess Celestia sends Twilight to oversee the preparations for the celebration in Ponyville, where it's being held this year, also telling her to make some friends while she does that. Nightmare Moon claims to have been imprisoned for a thousand years, so this indicates that the first celebration happened after Luna was imprisoned. It is a celebration of Celestia imprisoning her and restoring the sun to Equestria. During a party, Spike reminds an irate Twilight that the ponies have to stay up all night in order to witness Princess Celestia raise the sun. Later, at the Ponyville pavilion, Mayor Mare holds a brief speech and introduces Princess Celestia, but she turns up missing, and Nightmare Moon appears in her place. Only at the end of the following episode does Princess Celestia reappear with the defeat of Nightmare Moon, and the sun subsequently rises. The Summer Sun Celebration is featured again in Twilight Sparkle's flashback during The Cutie Mark Chronicles. Twilight describes it as "the most amazing, most wonderful thing" she'd ever seen, which made her want to study as much as she can about magic. The event itself takes place in Canterlot, where eight royal guards play a fanfare for Princess Celestia, who comes on stage and flies up, raising the sun behind her. In the two-part Season 4 premiere, the Celebration is featured and mentioned. Unlike the previous Celebrations, this represents, not the defeat of Nightmare Moon, but the return of Princess Luna. Overseeing Twilight Sparkle's studies Princess Celestia refers to Twilight Sparkle as her "most faithful student" in the first episode, and Twilight is very proud of this fact. At the end of the second episode, Celestia tasks Twilight with staying in Ponyville with her friends and writing a weekly report about her studies of the "magic of friendship", which Twilight usually sends via Spike. These letters typically serve to illustrate each episode's moral for the show's viewers. During a flashback in The Cutie Mark Chronicles, Princess Celestia witnesses Twilight's rare magical talents and takes her as a protégé. Lauren Faust has suggested that there is more to Princess Celestia than has been depicted of her in the series. Relating to the events in the flashbacks in The Cutie Mark Chronicles, Celestia sensed that Twilight Sparkle was connected to theElements of Harmony and arranged the dragon-hatching test for her. Celestia then raised and trained Spike, and subsequently assigned him to be Twilight's assistant.7 Celestia has been present during an episode in a few cases, allowing for Twilight Sparkle or another pony to deliver the report to her in person. She arrives for a scheduled royal visit in Swarm of the Century, and meets the six main ponies outside of Ponyville where Twilight makes her report. She attends the Running of the Leaves in Fall Weather Friends as "Fall is one of her favorite seasons", and Twilight makes a brief report about friendship being more important than a competition. She also attends the Best Young Flyer competition in Sonic Rainboom, where Rarity delivers the report to her directly. She is present for a royal visit in A Bird in the Hoof, so she hears Twilight Sparkle's intended report from Fluttershy. Celestia makes a surprise cameo at the end of Feeling Pinkie Keen, dropping out of the sky to grab Spike's letter and then taking off just as quickly, confirming another one of Pinkie Pie's twitchy tail predictions. Celestia is asked to come to Ponyville by Spike in Lesson Zero, after Twilight, fearing that being unable to send a friendship report will have dire consequences, enchants a doll, causing all of Ponyville to fight over it. Celestia arrives and undoes the spell, then sternly asks Twilight to meet her at the library. Despite Twilight's fears, Celestia does not reprimand her, telling her that she should only send a friendship report if she learns a lesson. She also decrees that Twilight's friends may also send her friendship reports. Celestia makes a brief appearance in Sweet and Elite, showing Rarity to the room she will stay in while visiting Canterlot. She also displays awkwardness at Rarity fawning over her in thanks. At the end of the episode, she hears Rarity's friendship report. She next appears in It's About Time, passing by the "Star Swirl the Bearded" wing of the Canterlot library. She shows no signs of objection to seeing Twilight who had made an elaborate show of sneaking in, and compliments Twilight for her new hairstyle. Celestia presides over the wedding of Princess Cadance and Shining Armor in A Canterlot Wedding, and monitors an anonymous threat that was made against Canterlot. The threat turns out to be an invasion by the changelings and their queen, who was already in Canterlot impersonating Princess Cadance. However, through most of the two-part episode, no one except Twilight suspects there's something wrong with Cadance. When Twilight brands the fake Cadance as "evil" at the wedding rehearsal, Celestia is greatly disappointed by her actions and agrees with Shining Armor's suggestion for Twilight not to bother coming to the wedding. Celestia sternly tells Twilight, "You have a lot to think about," before walking out on her with the others. However, after the exposure of and defeat of Queen Chrysalis and the wedding ceremony, Celestia commends Twilight for persisting in the face of doubt and following her instincts in bringing Princess Cadance back, reaffirming their good relationship. In Magical Mystery Cure, Princess Celestia appears in a starry realm with Twilight Sparkle, revealing that she had sent Twilight the spell book of Star Swirl the Bearded as a test, which Twilight had passed by creating new magic. Just as Celestia starts singing, dozens of images float by, depicting Twilight's lessons and everyday studies, and she tells her about how it is time for Twilight to fulfill her destiny. Twilight, now having been transformed into an Alicorn, frets that she will no longer be Celestia's student. Celestia reassures her that she will still be her student, but in "a different way" - that Celestia and the other princesses will also be learning from Twilight now, as well. She then arranges a coronation ceremony for Twilight, to crown her as Equestria's newest princess. Personality Princess Celestia acts as a mentor to Twilight Sparkle. She often does not directly state her goals, but rather gives the advice to help her students find the answers they need. For example, she wrote a letter prompting Twilight to make friends in Friendship is Magic, part 1 when her goal was for Twilight Sparkle to find the Elements of Harmony. : "I told you that you needed to make some friends, nothing more..." : — Celestia to Twilight Sparkle Despite being royalty, she often encourages her subjects to relax with jokes and gentle questions. She also shows great patience with any inappropriate behavior towards her, as seen when Pinkie Pie snatches a cupcake from her at a party in A Bird in the Hoof. Princess Celestia displays a fun-loving side when she chuckles at the bottle of disappearing ink sent to her by Twilight in Griffon the Brush Off. In A Bird in the Hoof, while sipping from a constantly refilled cup of tea, she pretends to sip from her already full cup, causing Mr. and Mrs. Cake to overfill it. She watches with a smile on her face when Pinkie Pie devours one of the her cupcakes, while Mrs. Cake gasps and drags Pinkie away. Celestia tells Twilight and her friends in The Best Night Ever, after they ruin the Grand Galloping Gala, that she always found the Gala awful and she was hoping they would liven it up. While kindhearted and slow to anger, Celestia's patience does have its limits. When faced against the threat of Discord's return in The Return of Harmony Part 1, Celestia wastes no time in demanding that Discord return the stolen Elements of Harmony. Also, in Lesson Zero, when Spike makes her aware that Twilight inadvertently unleashed mass chaos onto Ponyville in her obsessive attempts to find a friendship report to send to the Princess, Celestia personally intervenes to undo Twilight's out-of-control spell. She sternly orders her student to a private meeting to discuss her actions, but remains understanding, and at the insistence of Twilight's friends she agrees not to punish Twilight, instead asking them all to send her friendship reports only when the lessons make themselves apparent to them. In A Canterlot Wedding - Part 1, after Twilight accuses imposter Cadance of being evil with no evidence to back her claims (although in this case, it could be argued that Twilight had no possible way of showing any evidence), she, along with the others, makes it clear her deep disappointment in her student and walks out on her after Shining Armor and the other ponies. But in A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2, while displaying righteous rage to the newly exposed Queen Chrysalis, she eventually commends Twilight for her instincts that told her the imposter Cadance was evil. In Ponyville Confidential, the Cutie Mark Crusaders manage to get a hold of a photo depicting her eating cake in an unladylike manner for their Foal Free Press''gossip column titled "Celestia: Just like us." At the end of MMMystery on the Friendship Express, she admires the cake made by the combined efforts of the bakers and overlooks Pinkie's attempts to gain her attention. Celestia can also be very forgiving. She does not admonish Fluttershy for taking Philomena without asking in A Bird in the Hoof. As mentioned above, she does not punish Twilight for the chaos she caused in Lesson Zero. In Keep Calm and Flutter On, she firmly believed that Discord could be redeemed, in spite of the trouble he had caused in the past. She mentions that Fall is one of her favorite seasons in Fall Weather Friends while at Ponyville to celebrate the Running of the Leaves. Magic The legend narrated in the first episode tells that Celestia raises the sun, and that she had raised the moon and stars in her sister's absence. A display of Celestia raising the sun is depicted in The Cutie Mark Chronicles, and the sunrise coincides with Princess Celestia's return in Friendship is Magic, part 2. Princess Celestia's cutie mark is a stylized sun, which matches her responsibility of raising the sun. Celestia is said to have wielded the Elements of Harmony on two occasions. The first is in the legend narrated in the show's first episode, which says that "the elder sister" Celestia used the elements to banish Nightmare Moon. The second is in The Return of Harmony Part 1, where Celestia says that she and her sister discovered the Elements of Harmony and used them to defeatDiscord. In the same episode, Celestia further explains to Twilight and her friends that she and Luna are no longer connected to the Elements, and that Twilight and her friends have to face Discord with the Elements now. Both of the confrontations and using the Elements against Discord and Nightmare Moon are fully explained in minor detail in Princess Twilight Sparkle - Part 1 and Princess Twilight Sparkle - Part 2. Other than raising the sun and wielding the Elements of Harmony, Princess Celestia displays telekinesis in various episodes and in the show's opening sequence. Other instances of her using magic are in The Cutie Mark Chronicles, where she stops Twilight Sparkle's wild magic burst, and in Lesson Zero, where she dispels the "Want It, Need It" spell from a massive amount of affected ponies at once. Celestia finds herself unable to overpower the magic of Queen Chrysalis in A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2. Celestia attacks Chrysalis with a beam from her horn, and Chrysalis retaliates with a beam of her own, which repulses Celestia's beam. However, this instance of Celestia being overpowered was because Chrysalis's own magic had been augmented by her feeding on Shining Armor's love for Princess Cadance. In The Crystal Empire - Part 1, both Celestia and Twilight use some magic that surrounds their horn with black fog and makes their irises glow red and their eyes glow green and emit a purple trail, much like King Sombra's usual appearance. The magic causes black crystals to grow from the ground, again in the same fashion as King Sombra's magic. Celestia says this demonstrates what would happen if hatred and fear took hold of the Crystal Empire. When Twilight uses this magic, she mentions to Spike that she learned it from Celestia. In addition, Celestia used her magic alongside Luna to turn King Sombra to shadow and banish him within the ice of the arctic north. In Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2, Princess Celestia performs a magic transferring ritual with Princess Luna and Princess Cadance. When completed, Celestia loses her sun cutie mark and is left weak and fatigued, but regains it alongside her magic following Twilight and her friends' victory over Lord Tirek and the return of all the stolen magic. Depiction in filmsEdit ''My Little Pony Equestria Girls In the alternate world Twilight Sparkle travels to in My Little Pony Equestria Girls, the human Celestia is the principal of Canterlot High and her sister is the vice principal. Twilight goes to her when she learns where her crown is. Principal Celestia tells her that the only way to get the crown is to be voted Princess of the Fall Formal and lets her sign up. At the Fall Formal, she announces Twilight as the winner. She later commends Twilight for her role in defeating Sunset Shimmer. She appears to be just as wise, fair and kind in the human world as she is in Equestria. My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks In the sequel, Principal Celestia is seen walking into the gymnasium with Vice Principal Luna to check on the students who are making signs and posters for the Mane Event, a musical showcase being put on in Canterlot High to help raise money for after school programs. After she states her hope that it will be as exciting as the Fall Formal, the other students begin to look menacingly at Sunset Shimmer, in remembrance of what happened then. The Rainbooms try to warn Celestia and Luna about the Dazzlings, but they are already hypnotized by the sirens' song. The principals later serve as the judges for the Battle of the Bands. Following Snips and Snails' rap song, Celestia tells them not to drop the microphones. After the semifinals, the Dazzlings hypnotize them and coerce their decision in favor of the Rainbooms instead of Trixie and the Illusions. When she is about to write a message to Twilight, Sunset mentions Princess Celestia. Music to My Ears Principal Celestia appears in the animated short Music to My Ears where she stops DJ Pon-3, who is walking through the school listening to dubstep on her headphones. Celestia confiscates the headphones and gestures for her to get to class. Depiction in comicsEdit An example of Princess Celestia's physical strength is briefly seen in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Issue #10. Big McIntosh is seen visibly struggling against her in hoof-wrestling. Celestia, however, is shown displaying considerably less strain from the match. She is even smiling slyly at Big McIntosh as he struggles. The Fall of Sunset Shimmer shows Celestia's time as Sunset Shimmer's teacher. She tries to teach Sunset the values of humility, but Sunset doesn't take the lessons to heart. Sunset's deep desire for power leads to Celestia removing her from her position as Celestia's student. When Sunset escapes to the human world through the Crystal Mirror, Celestia keeps the mirror in her throne room in hopes that Sunset will one day return. Reflections reveals more of Celestia's history: long ago, during her and Star Swirl the Bearded's travels into mirror universes, she met and fell in love with an alternate Equestria's King Sombra—a good kindhearted ruler. The consequences of Celestia's decision to repeatedly meet this Sombra would reverberate to the present and put both Equestrias, as well as the lives of her and her sister Luna, at serious risk. The alternate Equestria also introduces an evil counterpart of Celestia. Other depictionsEdit Hasbro.com description / Teacher for a Day This Magnificent Princess pony is the ruler of Equestria! Princess Celestia is the most magical pony. She's responsible for raising the sun to create light in Equestria. Wise and kind, she is a mentor to Twilight Sparkle. All of the ponies look up to her and depend on her. Some say she is SO wise because she is over ONE THOUSAND years old. Hasbro.com second description Princess Celestia is the benevolent ruler over all of Equestria! She and her younger sister Princess Luna are responsible for raising the sun and the moon to create light and darkness in Equestria. As a wise and magical teacher, Princess Celestia has entrusted great responsibility to her best student: Twilight Sparkle. Together with her friends, Twilight uses the Elements of Harmony that the Princess has given them to bring friendship to Equestria!8 Meet Princess Celestia This magnificent princess pony is the ruler of Equestria. Princess Celestia is the most magical pony. She is responsible for raising the sun and the moon to create light and darkness in Equestria. She is the only pony with a unicorn's horn and Pegasus wings. Wise and kind, she is the mentor to Twilight Sparkle. All of the ponies look up to her and depend on her. Some say she is so wise because she is over one thousand years old.9 Adventures in Ponyville Princess Celestia is shown when the player's pony earns friendship sparkles by solving one of the six main ponies' dilemmas. She also appears in the ending after the player's pony earns her cutie mark. Coloring books The front and back cover of a My Little Pony Giant Coloring and Activity Book by Bendon Publishing shows Princess Celestia with her cutie mark containing an image of Derpy.10 HubNetwork.com description Beautiful, kind, and wise, Princess Celestia raises the sun in the morning and rules Equestria with a velvet hoof. She is a very powerful Alicorn (part-Unicorn/part-Pegasus), and everypony looks up to her. Gracious and powerful, she loves her subjects and her protégée, Twilight Sparkle. Princess Celestia inspires everypony to be their best. My Little Pony mobile game description Princess Celestia is the ruler of Equestria, responsible for raising the sun, moon, and stars. She is also Twilight Sparkle's mentor. The Elements of Harmony guidebook ''PRINCESS CELESTIA is the wise and kind ruler of Equestria. Governing her subjects from her castle in Canterlot, she emanates a commanding presence with both a Unicorn's horn and magnificent Pegasus wings. Princess Celestia is profoundly magical, and some say she is more than one thousand years old. With the help of her sister, Princess Luna, she makes sure the sun and moon rise and set each day.'' Sticker book "Princess Celestia is the beloved ruler of Equestria. She watches over the ponies from her castle in Canterlot. With the help of her younger sister Princess Luna she makes sure the sun rises and sets each day."specify The Journal of the Two Sisters Celestia and Luna were asked by Star Swirl the Bearded to become Princesses of Equestria to help unite the three tribes as they represented all three as Alicorns. It turns out, when they were younger, the sisters always dreamed of becoming Princesses. Although they accepted, the sisters were still blank flanks, not only due to Alicorns aging differently from other ponies, but also due to duties of the sun and moon still being under the control of King Bullion and Princess Platinum's unicorns. During their time as Princesses before gaining their cutie marks, Celestia felt a sense of attachment to the sun carving on the Tree of Harmony, deciding to build the Castle of the Two Sisters nearby with Star Swirl's full support. Celestia, or Celie, as Luna nicknamed her, was puzzled by Luna's request for all the trap doors and the Organ to the Outside, but agreed when Luna offered to include the secret reading room for Celestia in the library. Thanks to Luna befriending a manticore named Melvin, along with Cragadiles, bats, and owls, Celestia nearly had the castle completed, now knowing she and Luna were meant to rule together. Once the castle is finished, the Princesses are introduced to Unicorn King Bullion and Princess Platinum by Star Swirl personally. King Bullion was very friendly, but Platinum was very rude, even going so far as to insult Celestia for being their sovereign without a cutie mark. Luna fixed Platinum's behavior using the Organ, and Platinum made amends by having the unicorn seamstresses fill the Castle with beautiful tapestries of the new Royal Sisters, including designing the new seal for the Equestria flag. After that, the second-in-commands for the three tribes met with Celestia to reveal all the new progress the tribes were making since Celestia and Luna's coronation, displaying the new sense of peace and harmony the sisters had brought to Equestria. Star Swirl even invited Celestia to see his library, offering her the chance to study up on everything involving the three tribes that she had never seen before, and she happily accepted. Star Swirl even lets Celestia know of some spells he is practicing on that are still in development, and assist him in perfecting his spell to travel through time and space without limitations. Celestia also was introduced to Zecora's kind when she went looking for Luna and found her on the outskirts of where the zebras resided. Celestia soon found herself trying to broker a new peace treaty with the griffons when they chose to renew their feud with Commander Hurricane and the Pegasi after learning of the change of authority in Equestria. The griffon leader, Gregor, refused to negotiate with her until she and Luna brought him his favorite eclairs, and Luna baffled him into silence with the rhyming she learned from the zebras. She also found herself having to retrieve the Crystal Heart for the Crystal Empire's sovereign, unicorn Princess Amore, when it is taken by a dragon who reclaimed it under the pretense that it was mined from his keep and thus is his property. When the dragon disrespects her too much, Celestia unleashes her own Royal Canterlot Voice on the dragon in fury, spooking him so badly that he returns the Heart and flees into his keep, never to bother anyone again, and showing how one should never enrage Celestia. One night, Celestia awakens to find Star Swirl exhausted and looking older than he should, revealing that he had run out of full-grown unicorns to help lower the moon and raise the sun. He had tried to do it alone, but used up his own unicorn magic in the process. Realizing that Alicorn magic is more powerful than unicorn magic, Star Swirl asked Celestia and Luna to assume the duties of being guardians of the sun and moon, believing that by doing so, their magic would actually become stronger as the sun and moon would rejuvenate them. Celestia and Luna took flight and performed the sunrise and setting of the moon flawlessly. When it was over, Celestia finds she has earned her sun cutie mark while Luna has earned her crescent moon cutie mark. Remembering that her cutie mark looks just like the carving on the Tree of Harmony, she then asks about the third one, but Star Swirl leaves her to find out for herself. Celestia's final entry states that she and Luna have entered a new stage in their lives now that they have their cutie marks, and hopes that more exciting adventures are to come for her and Luna.